Just because you’ve had some issues around the house doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to call up the repair company right away. Leaks, mildew, carpet sags, paint that’s falling apart, or windows that get too much condensation all happen to be issues that you can take care of yourself. These DIY household repairs just take a little bit of time and know-how, so you can take the afternoon to fix up your house.
Leaking Basement
You may notice that your basement has begun to leak. Similarly, the crawl space in your home may have the same issue. Home resource This Old House recommends that you start troubleshooting this issue by checking your downspouts and gutters. These can easily get clogged with debris that makes them unable to function. When water gets trapped between branches, clumps of leaves, or other debris, it will back up and leak elsewhere, such as your front yard or backyard or even into the house. If cleaning the downspout or gutters doesn’t prevent basement leaks, you may want to replace or at least reposition your downspout so that it aims water as far away from the house as possible.
Mildew
Mildew, a type of fungus, can grow anywhere within the house. You may also get mold as well. Some forms of mold are toxic, and breathing in mildew or mold can cause sickness, agitate preexisting asthma, and also trigger your allergies. Therefore, if you see mildew or mold inside or outside of the home, you need to remove it. You can find mildew spray removers that can take care of the job. If you’re dealing with mildew on painted walls, then combine water and bleach to remove the mildew without harming the paint’s color. Apply for 20 minutes, This Old House recommends, and then remove.
Carpet Sags
Carpet sags could be a tripping hazard, and besides that, they simply look unattractive. The main cause for these sags is issues with the foundation of the home, such as the support beams. Therefore, this may be one problem in which it’s best to call professionals. However, you can try some DIY fixes yourself before you do. Using jacks, you can screw in concrete pieces to the support beam to re-strengthen the foundation of the beam. However, if this doesn’t work, you shouldn’t hesitate to get in touch with a contractor to remove carpet sags.
Peeling, Chipped, or Cracked Paint
The only thing worse than peeling, chipped, or cracked paint inside of the house is that on your home’s exterior. This is what everyone and anyone sees, and so you want your home to look wonderful inside and out. Hopefully when you first painted the exterior of your home, you used primer with a sealant so that the paint could best adhere to the surface. You may also have had to use a sander on certain types of paint for better adherence. If too much moisture gets trapped within the paint, then it begins to lose its ability to adhere to surfaces and thus begins to crack or chip. Similarly, too much humidity can cause that issue.
In order to fix up paint issues, it’s best to just repaint the damaged parts of your home’s exterior. Remove all of the cracked paint pieces first as best you can. Then use alkyd primer for the best paint adherence. Find the exact color paint that you used for the original exterior paintjob and watch for your humidity. You should aim for a day where the humidity’s at 50 percent and the temperature is at about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. You should also paint between the hours of 10 o’ clock in the morning and three o’ clock in the afternoon to ensure that you have adequate sunlight for the job.
Windows with Excess Condensation
Naturally, as the weather changes and more or less humidity and moisture get into the air, your windows will experience condensation. However, if your windows constantly have water droplets on them, you could have a larger problem at hand. Excessive condensation is the perfect environment for mildew and mold to thrive and grow. Therefore, you should take care of this problem as soon as possible. Look into getting double-glazed windows, which tend to be less likely to experience excessive condensation. If you can’t afford new windows or don’t want to buy them, and then control your home’s humidity as best you can. Dehumidifiers around the house as well as vents in the bathroom that fan out the heat from showers can help significantly.
